Blind My Eyes Perhaps, But I Still See
by Rethira
Summary: Death would be a kindness, but when has Hojo ever been kind?


This is not my normal fare. Just to warn you. It's so totally not what I normally write anymore. Oh and this is _not_ a songfic.

Warnings: angst, torture, character death, disabilities, dismemberment, rape, disfigurement, the list goes on...

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any characters therein. I make no money from anything. I also do not own the lyrics to the song _Redemption,_ I am simply using them for my own nefarious purposes. No profit will be made from my usage of them. Furthermore, I do not own the lyrics of the various nursery rhymes used and make no money from my usage of them.

* * *

**Blind My Eyes Perhaps, But I Still See**

They were summoned back to Midgar almost as soon as victory was announced. Later, Sephiroth would blame that for the situation they ended up in. But at the time, neither he nor Genesis realised that anything was wrong with the summons. President Shinra was well known for caring little for the people who worked for him and if his two star SOLDIERs needed four hours sleep, then they could damn well get it _after_ he'd spoken to them. The man was callously cruel and almost universally disliked. So no, to be summoned after a gruelling battle and expected to arrive on time and awake was not unusual in the slightest.

Sephiroth would always blame himself, but really, there was no way he could have known.

* * *

The helicopter was one of the Turk's and flown by a Turk which was why Sephiroth and Genesis both remained awake. They bantered to keep themselves awake and Genesis resisted reciting LOVELESS, knowing that it would send Sephiroth asleep. Genesis was in a rare good mood, brought about by not seeing Hollander for a few weeks, winning a war and the fact that he was returning to Angeal. Sephiroth was eager to keep him that way, so he laughed at the crude jokes Genesis made and even pointed out a few of his own observations, knowing that Genesis would find them amusing.

All that didn't change the fact that both of them were exhausted and aching for a few hours of sleep.

When the chopper landed and the Turk turned a dart gun on them and more Turks appeared to apprehend them, perhaps that was why Sephiroth and Genesis failed to fend them off. Sleep claimed them and Sephiroth's last thought was _Hojo..._

* * *

Angeal greeted them when they awoke. His face was grim and he had several prominent bruises marking him. Genesis almost immediately started clucking over them, always such a mother hen around Angeal, but the dark haired man brushed him off.

"We're dead." he said. Sephiroth inclined his head.

"Ah. Helicopter accident, I assume? And they have yet to find the wreckage?" he said. Angeal shrugged.

"Probably. As for me... Lazard has sent me out on a mission to deal with some Zoloms. Before you two 'died' of course. He's trying to reach me as we speak, but... Well, the Zoloms were particularly fierce and had eaten several other SOLDIERs. Or perhaps they'll claim I've deserted now that you two are 'dead'. That's less likely though, because everyone who knows me knows that I wouldn't just desert." Angeal replied. Genesis sighed.

"So, we're all dead then. No-one looking for us, no-one caring about us... We can only hope that we can overwhelm them then." he said. Sephiroth's lips thinned.

"No. Hojo is resourceful. He will make sure that we can't escape." Angeal pointed out.

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing. I vote we make escape plans." said Genesis, standing up. He began to examine the walls and door of their temporary prison.

"It's no use Genesis. How many times do you think I've been in here? Hojo has strengthened the walls so that even _I_ can't break them." Sephiroth muttered. He glanced up at the camera in the corner. "Besides, he's watching. Can't you feel him?"

"Not like you can." replied Genesis. "Your abilities in that area far outweigh mine, not that I would want to share that particular ability. Being able to feel those slimy scientists..." he shuddered in mock horror.

"It can be useful. He's coming now, so be ready." Sephiroth said. Angeal and Genesis nodded and all three of them stood and waited to rush the door. It beeped and slid open but instead of the expected Hojo, several Turks – unfamiliar, probably poached by Hojo for his own personal use – stood there, brandishing guns. Regardless, the SOLDIERs leapt, Angeal slamming into one and breaking his arm while Genesis lashed out with his long legs, disarming them easily. Sephiroth used punches and kicks and relished the bone deep _crack_ as he smashed one of their noses in.

Despite their attempts – three dead, a further five injured, two mortally – Hojo's men still managed to tranquilise them. Once again, darkness claimed them and they knew no more.

* * *

It was the hiss of spraying liquid and the jarring, pained scream that woke Sephiroth. He sat up immediately and took in his surroundings.

_Glass around them, circular; the testing chamber then. Liquid sprayed from ceiling, green tinge, feels like burning upon contact with skin; mako shower, unrefined, contaminants included. Screaming, masculine, familiar; Genesis, skin too sensitive to mako. Faint sobbing, masculine, familiar; Angeal, similarly affected. Conclusion: Hojo has placed all three of us in an unrefined mako shower in order to weaken us both physically and mentally._

Sephiroth did not scream, or yell, or make any sort of noise at all. He blinked furiously – mako had the potential to blind and he could already feel it burning his eyes – and slowly walked over to Genesis. The auburn haired man was screaming and crying, his eyes scrunched up tight and his skin was already reddening as the mako burned him. Sephiroth knelt over him, trying to protect him from the worst of the spray.

"Seph." Genesis said, eyes fluttering as he tried to get rid of the damaging substance that was now burning them. He curled up even smaller, huddling beneath Sephiroth.

"Shh, Gen. Let me." Sephiroth smiled, ignoring the burning patter of mako falling on his back and soaking his hair. He could take the acidic feel, while Genesis couldn't. So Sephiroth held himself still over Genesis and wished that he could protect him from the mako that was collecting on the floor around them.

"Hurts." whined Genesis. The pathetic look on his face reminded Sephiroth why he and Angeal were always so careful with him. Sephiroth searched for something to say, but then stopped when Angeal collapsed beside them. He reached out to hold Genesis' hand.

"I know, Gen. You can take it. We'll all take it. And then we'll give 'em hell." Angeal said. His blue eyes were shining.

Genesis made an affirmative noise and the three of them huddled closer, hoping that they could protect each other from some of the mako falling from above them. Outside of their glass cage, Hojo scowled.

* * *

Sephiroth never figures out how many days they spent in the glass cage, mako raining down upon them. The mako drained away slowly but surely, never reaching a depth of more than a few inches. He and Angeal took turns lying beneath Genesis and kneeling over him, anything to protect Genesis' too sensitive skin. The mako still left burns on them, red and raw and aching. The burns aren't like normal burns – they refuse to heal and nothing short of materia can cure them. Not that Hojo would provide materia in the first place; he knows that Sephiroth is resourceful enough to break out with nothing more than his body and a single, un-mastered Cure materia.

Sephiroth wakens alone in a cell. It is one of the cells that Hojo uses to keep his more human experiments contained and Sephiroth has been in these many times. He knew better than to look for any escape routes. Instead he sat up, hissing as his burnt skin – _his back, his legs, his feet and hands, his arms_ – stretched and cracked. He didn't look at his blood, green tinged from all the mako, as it seeped from the lacerations.

"Angeal." he called. There was a thump and a curse from the cell on his left.

"Afraid you're stuck with me, Seph." Genesis said. "Don't know where Angeal is."

"You're alright?" Sephiroth asked, voice softening slightly. Genesis sniffed.

"You don't have to act like I'm some fragile girl Sephiroth. I _am_ a SOLDIER First Class." he replied reproachfully.

"Can't I worry about you?" Sephiroth asked quietly. Genesis paused, for perhaps a touch too long, before replying.

"Only if I get to worry about you. Now, where might Angeal be?" Sephiroth could almost see Genesis' raised eyebrow. Sephiroth frowned and leant against the wall joining his cell with Genesis'.

"Hojo will have him. I... I don't know where exactly. But it won't be good." Sephiroth said. Genesis snorted.

"Next time I see Hojo, I'm pulling his head off."

Sephiroth could only agree with the sentiment.

* * *

They hadn't been fed for nearly a week. Water had been grudgingly provided, but no food. It was designed to weaken them, Sephiroth knew. Knowing made it easier in a way, but it didn't stop the hunger pangs. His body was demanding food and Sephiroth had no way of providing it. Not even the gruel Hojo usually gave him when he kept Sephiroth here. Not a bite and Sephiroth was weakening, much as he hated to admit it.

"Angeal?" Genesis called – he was asleep, and called for Angeal regularly. So far, the dark haired man hadn't been seen or heard of. Sephiroth didn't want to think of what that meant.

Suddenly, the door clanked. Sephiroth leapt to his feet and started to move to intercept the intruder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the man said. He was young looking, with glasses rammed on his nose and a 'holier-than-thou' smirk on his face. He was carrying a tray with a bowl of gruel. Reluctantly, Sephiroth backed away. The researcher smirked triumphantly. "Good boy. Now, what are you going to give me in exchange for this...?"

For a moment Sephiroth was lost, but then he recalled various crude remarks he had heard over the years. He couldn't stop the sneer from forming on his face.

"I refuse." he said. The researcher turned red and angry and growled before throwing the food to the floor. Sephiroth didn't move as the man left and then he dropped to the floor and quickly scooped up as much of the gruel as he could. One of the first rules when under Hojo's control was that you didn't waste food.

"What'd he want?" Genesis asked. He'd obviously woken up during the altercation.

"Guess." Sephiroth replied bluntly.

"Ah. Well, I guess I'll be next then." Genesis sighed.

"And?" Sephiroth asked, morbid curiosity driving him.

"Depends on how hungry I am." Genesis replied, almost casually.

"Hmph." Sephiroth snorted. "Your choice. Personally I wouldn't touch them for anything."

"Yes, well, it's my choice. It could be useful, knowing what their dicks look like. It gives you power." Genesis laughed a little.

"Is that why you always wanted to see mine?" Sephiroth asked archly.

"No, no, that was simple personal interest. Angeal and I were thinking of asking you to join us." commented Genesis.

"Oh? Too bad it won't happen now." Sephiroth replied, tensing almost imperceptibly.

"I suppose. Still, it would have been nice. I imagine you would be quite good in bed." Genesis said.

"I wouldn't know." Sephiroth replied. Thankfully, Genesis made no comment on that and they lapsed into silence.

* * *

It had been maybe three weeks since their 'deaths'. And finally, Sephiroth knew why Angeal hadn't ever responded.

"...removed the malleus, incus and stapes from both ears and inserted a blockage so they cannot reform. Result: Specimen A is completely deaf and cannot hear any form of sound. Has so far adapted to lack of noise, now placing Specimen A in company of Specimens G and S. Will monitor adaptation to newfound deafness. Specimen S still refusing to behave in return for sustenance. Specimen G has reportedly responded favourably to all except Anderson. Anderson to bring Specimen G's sustenance until it responds in a similarly favourable manner." Hojo was reciting. He didn't seem to care that Sephiroth was listening.

"You bastard!" Genesis howled, infuriated. "How dare you? How could you?" He battered against the door. Angeal tried to restrain him and started speaking, too loud and too slowly.

"Gen, calm down. It's okay. Am I saying anything?" Angeal asked, a wry look on his face. Sephiroth nodded and wondered at how Angeal was so calm. Genesis sagged as Hojo walked away. He turned to face Angeal and hugged him.

"Oh Angeal, Angeal, how could they?" Genesis murmured. "My poor Angeal."

Obviously Angeal couldn't understand, but he nodded anyway and held Genesis tightly. Sephiroth sat down beside them and wrapped his arms around them both. He rarely touched others, but... this was too unique a situation.

Genesis began to sob and Sephiroth couldn't help but join him, his eyes blinking furiously in his own approximation of crying.

* * *

Two months. Two months, with little water and less food and experiment after experiment and now finally...

Genesis was blind. Hojo had decided that Genesis' reluctance to 'perform' was due to the physical appearance of the other men and had decided to remove the problem. So he had inserted thin disks into Genesis' eyes, blocking light from entering and rendering Genesis completely blind. His eyes were still clear and it didn't hurt precisely, but he couldn't see. Sephiroth hated it. But he hated it more when Hojo decided that having Genesis' unseeing eyes still visible was unsightly and had glued his eyelids shut.

"Dinner time, boys." Anderson's voice, thin and reedy, came. He still wore his sneer and looked ever so smug. Sephiroth glared at him but didn't move.

"Anderson, my dear fellow." Genesis said, mockingly. He turned to face the door, closed eyes betraying his sightlessness.

"Not you today, G. I want S." Anderson smirked.

"And we've been over this. You won't touch him and I won't bite your dick off. Or he won't bite your dick off. Whichever." Genesis smirked, obviously predicting the way Anderson blanched. Sephiroth smiled thinly. Angeal, though unaware of the conversation, could obviously guess. He had seen it enough times and remained supportive. Genesis was gaining them food, after all.

"Fine. On your knees." Anderson growled. Sephiroth averted his eyes, embarrassed by the act. Angeal, considerably less squeamish, assisted Genesis over to Anderson. And then Genesis began.

It was at times like this that Sephiroth envied Angeal his deafness. The sound of Genesis' lips and Anderson's moans echoed furiously through Sephiroth's head and he hated it, hated that Genesis had been reduced to this. He hated that when Genesis did this, he could hear Genesis sobs when he first came back afterwards.

"_Seph? Turn the lights on, I can't see anything."_

"_Genesis... they're on."_

"_Oh. Oh. Oh... no, nonononono. Tell me you were joking Seph, tell me you're lying!"_

"_No Genesis. I'm not."_

_And then he'd screamed._

Sephiroth held himself stock still when he heard Anderson orgasm. It was a series of grunts and slapping noises and then an exaggerated groan and then he would shove Genesis away, to leave streaks of white on Genesis' face. Anderson would laugh, his voice high and cruel and sometimes he'd make a snide joke about Genesis already having eaten. Today was no different.

"Had your fill, slut? You were okay today, but next time I'm having S." Anderson muttered as he shoved the tray of food into Angeal's hands. Angeal smiled pleasantly at him and put the tray down. He rarely spoke anymore, too unsure of himself now that he couldn't hear his words.

"Next time, I'll break your fingers." Angeal said, breaking the relative silence. "Or perhaps I'll pull your arms from their sockets."

"I second that remark." Genesis muttered. He reached blindly for something to wipe his face with and found Anderson's lab coat. A few extra smears did not make any difference to it.

"And if I ever, ever end up in that position, you can rest assured that there will be no Anderson Juniors." Sephiroth said silkily. Anderson wisely kept his mouth shut and staggered outside. He wouldn't be back for a while, but it was too much to hope for him to stay away forever.

"If I ever have to blow him again, I may die from being poisoned. He must never wash." Genesis gagged.

"We're sorry." Sephiroth said. Genesis turned to him and snorted.

"Don't be. It's nothing I haven't done before. I am merely preserving what remains of your innocence." Genesis muttered.

"Thank you." Sephiroth gently helped Genesis to his feet and guided him to the bed. Angeal brought over their bowl of gruel and they ate in companionable silence. It wouldn't last, this brief respite, but for now they would relish it.

* * *

Sephiroth could feel nothing except searing agony. His bones, his blood, his organs felt like they were burning. It hurt so much he couldn't even scream, his throat only managing broken sobs. The pain stopped for a fraction of a second and Sephiroth choked. He rolled over, just as the pain began again.

"Stop... killing him... monsters!" Sephiroth could just hear over the fire in his ears and in his mind.

_Genesis..._

But then the pain increased and Sephiroth could only long for the abyss of sleep.

* * *

His abdomen had been sliced open and the muscle and skin removed, so that Hojo could observe the effects of various acids as the dissolved his intestines. Sephiroth vaguely hoped that he was dying, because that would show Hojo.

* * *

Genesis was still blind and Angeal was still deaf, but Sephiroth had full control of his faculties. They unanimously decided that they would not speak of the weeks that had passed, unnoticed, while Hojo conducted all manner of tests upon them. Angeal could sort of lip read by now and Genesis was able to navigate their cell with ease – not difficult given its size and the lack of obstacles.

And then Zack came.

"Oh my god, is that Sephiroth? Sephiroth, can you hear me?" he called and Sephiroth was across the room in seconds.

"Idiot, go! Run, quickly, before they catch you." Sephiroth hissed. But even as he said it Sephiroth knew it was too late. Hojo was near, and blocking the escape route.

"Run!" Genesis yelled. Zack began but...

"I think not." Hojo said and Sephiroth banged against the door. Zack began to talk, confused and then Sephiroth heard the distinctive swish of a dart gun.

Zack was locked in with them. Angeal had been furious and upset and had crushed Zack to his chest when he'd first seen him.

"We should've invited him too, right? All that teenager stamina, enhanced by SOLDIER... Oh, it would've been wonderful." Genesis said, lying down on the bed.

"It was good you didn't. He's been spared the last five months." Sephiroth replied bluntly. He idly wondered how Zack would react to their nudity and his when he woke up. Hopefully, Zack would be as unbothered as they were.

"Zack." Angeal mumbled, idly stroking the younger boy's hair. Zack frowned and started to wake up.

"Angeal..." he muttered sleepily. And then he slowly opened his eyes. "An-Angeal? Is it really you?"

"Yes it's him." Genesis answered for Angeal. Zack stared at Genesis.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Zack asked. Genesis snorted.

"I'm blind and Angeal's deaf. We're dealing with it." Genesis replied. Sephiroth gripped his wrist.

"But... how? Why? And why are you here? Everyone thinks you're dead!" Zack exclaimed.

"Shinra machinations, Zack. We've done our bit and now Hojo wants some resilient specimens for him to experiment on. We just happen to be the most stubborn." Genesis explained. Zack nodded grimly.

"So... how long have you been here?" he asked.

"Five months. There have been... setbacks." Sephiroth said. "We will escape, but... as of now, Angeal cannot hear us and he is reluctant to speak. He has yet to learn how to fully read our lips, but he is getting there. Genesis can navigate our cell, but that is hardly difficult. If we tried to escape, I would be the only one in complete control of my faculties and as such, I would have to be guarding both Angeal and Genesis. We have yet to develop a satisfactory plan in regards to their disabilities." he explained.

"Um, I prefer the term modifications as caused by Hojo. I mean, Sephy darling, it is not as if we couldn't regain our respective abilities if Hojo was so kind as to remove the things preventing us from doing so." Genesis pointed out.

"Huh? You mean, there's still hope?" Zack asked, reminding everyone why he was called 'The Puppy'.

"Theoretically, if Hojo was to remove the thin barrier he placed in my eyes which is preventing light from reaching my corneas then I would be fully able to see. And Angeal would be able to re-grow the bones in his ears if Hojo removed the blockage that he placed in there instead. He simply won't do that though, so we have to develop a plan which will compensate for my blindness and Angeal's deafness." explained Genesis.

"Oh."

They lapsed into silence for a few moments.

"I wish you hadn't come here, puppy." Angeal said, deep voice cracking under the strain.

Sephiroth could not but agree.

* * *

"_Go on, fuck him, god he looks just like a whore."_

"_He's fucking tight as well. Bet he's never bottomed in his life."_

"_Go on slut, suck his cock like you mean it."_

"_Hey, look. If I do this then the big one gets all angry."_

_Oh, it hurt deep inside and he didn't know why. It hurt and he wanted to scream but he couldn't, he couldn't and he could sense the Enemy so close, watching and uncaring and he hated it so much._

* * *

Sephiroth vomited. And then he gagged and choked and collapsed on the floor. The stench was making him sick, he vaguely realised. He looked around, blearily, unsure as to where he was or why.

"Sephiroth, get _up_." hissed the hated voice and Sephiroth struggled as his limbs obeyed without consulting him. He growled at Hojo – _always, it was Hojo, always ever since he was a boy_ – and walked stiffly – _sore inner muscles, vague memories of so-called dirty talk; conclusion, have been raped_ – over to the glass. He banged on it, once, twice and growled.

"Bad boy, Sephiroth. Now, eat your food." Hojo said, his face twisting cruelly. Sephiroth turned and saw several bowls of food.

_Heavy stench in air, stiffness of limbs, general tiredness; Slow effect in air, possible result of Malboro breath. Contents of bowls, green tinged, tentacular, source of smell; Hojo expects me to eat Malboro tentacles._

"No." Sephiroth ground out. And then the pain began, shooting through every inch of his body. "No." he repeated. "No, no, no, no. I will not."

The pain cut out and he staggered. Hojo was scowling and Sephiroth knelt down, shaking slightly.

"Wake up Z." Hojo said. "And place S back in confinement."

_Sleep_, Sephiroth thought, _they're using Sleep on me._

His head hit the floor with a jarring thud and Sephiroth could do no more.

* * *

There was screaming, loud and high and drawn out. Sephiroth rolled to his feet instinctively and moved. He was not in the metal cell anymore, instead inside a reinforced glass cell. There were similar cages beside him, one containing Genesis and the other Angeal.

"Genesis." Sephiroth managed to choke out. Genesis made no movements and Sephiroth realised that he couldn't hear him. A cursory glance told him that he could hear the screams because it was being played over a sound system. That didn't comfort Sephiroth in the slightest – Hojo frequently did that, to demoralise his specimens.

Suddenly, abruptly, there was a gagging, choking noise and the screams stopped.

"_Specimen's vocal chords have been successfully removed. Insertion of blockage commencing."_ Hojo's voice replaced the screams.

"Zack." Sephiroth whispered. "Oh, Zack."

* * *

They were all together again. Zack's throat was a mess of red scars. He couldn't make a noise anymore. Not at all, not ever and it was killing him. Almost as much as it was killing Angeal. True, he had been unable to hear Zack for the past month and a half, but he knew – they _all_ knew – that Zack loved talking. And now that had been taken from him, ripped from him and it was crushing Zack's spirit. Angeal was simply taking it even further.

"Do you think he's trying to make monsters of us all?" Angeal asked, shortly after Zack was returned to them. Genesis turned sightless eyes – Hojo had decided to remove the glue holding his eyelids down, simply to make it ever more horrific – towards him.

"We were already monsters, Angeal. He's just trying to make us even more monstrous." he said sadly, enunciating his words precisely, so that Angeal could read them. Genesis fluttered his wing to emphasise his point. Angeal inclined his head and Sephiroth looked away. Zack clutched Angeal's arm tightly, as if protesting, but they all knew that Hojo would make them monsters now.

"_The gift of the goddess is what three men seek._" Genesis said, "_But their fates are scattered by war. One is taken captured, one flies away, and the last becomes a hero._ Which do you think you are?"

"We were all captured, Genesis. But perhaps you are the one who flies away." Sephiroth muttered in response.

"Ah, well said. Truly I wish to take to the sky." Genesis smiled wanly, gracefully and Sephiroth reached out to stroke his feathers gently.

"Don't we all?" Angeal murmured.

* * *

"...and as you can see, all specimens are largely intact. I have implemented the changes noted in A, G and Z in S and have found a marked difference in its reactions to certain substances. Specimens K, L and Y will soon be perfected and suitable for use. Together, they are better equipped than S is and I am sure you will find them to be a suitable replacement for S. K is the most advanced and will perform far better than S ever could." Hojo's voice reached Sephiroth's ears. He jerked awake and dragged his head up.

He was in a tank, mako filled. It was refined mako, safe enough, though the dreams it caused were addictive and sent people who were immersed in it or ingested enough of it into comas. Sephiroth knew that he was highly resistant to that effect – he retained his sense of self, despite the voices that called to him. Perhaps it was because he could always hear the voices and knew to ignore them.

Peering through the green, Sephiroth realised that he could see the ShinRa board members. He smiled acidly at them – _no Tseng, Rufus or Reeve _– the people who had signed him away to a madman. Lazard was there, not looking at him, seemingly embarrassed. Sephiroth pulled his arm free of the needles that had been embedded in it and placed it against the glass.

_Yes, I'm aware_, he thought, _I know what you've done to me and Genesis and Angeal and poor, innocent Zack. And I will get revenge._

"So, who's there then?" Genesis asked – not in a mako tank, merely contained. "Presumably old fatty himself and undoubtedly Heidegger and Palmer. Scarlet? I imagine so. I don't think you've let Rufus in on this, eh, fatty?" he spat.

"One of you, subdue G." Hojo muttered.

"Dr Hojo, I thought you said they were unaware of their condition?" Scarlet simpered.

"Largely unaware. There is a difference." Hojo replied. Sephiroth banged sharply.

'Always aware' he mouthed, smiling.

"So, Sephiroth's awake? Good. I was wondering. You see, my dear old enemies, I find myself unable to see. And Angeal can no longer hear and even Zack – oh, did you know about that, Hojo has Zack Fair here too – has been disfigured. He had his vocal chords removed and we listened to him screaming while the Maggot removed them." Genesis said, cattily. "And that's saying nothing about what sexual deviants we have here. One of them says he wants to fuck my mouth when Hojo has removed my tongue. I rather think I shall bite his mangy cock off next time. Are they leaving yet, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth banged again and mouthed 'Kill you all' through the glass.

"They took our wings." Angeal says, suddenly. "They cut them off while we were awake and plucked the feathers and when we grew new ones they did it again."

Zack bangs on his glass wall as well and shows off his still healing throat.

"Do you think you'll be thanked later? Do you think people will think you did good in these laboratories?" Genesis asked suddenly. "Or do you think people will ask how anyone could do this to human beings? Ah, but I forget myself. We're not human, are we?"

Genesis laughed and Sephiroth banged again and the glass shattered. The mako spilled out, dragging Sephiroth out as well. He staggered to his feet.

"You will burn. You will burn and the world will see you for the monsters you truly are." he coughed.

"Do the Turks know? Are they missing this soiree?" Genesis asked.

"We know, Lazard, we know all that has been done and we will kill you for it." Sephiroth spat, just as Hojo's men filled him with darts and he fell asleep once more.

* * *

"_Your form quietly returns to space, what else can I do besides avenge you? I stared forever, until my tears withered away_." Genesis sang.

"_My overflowing sadness doesn't disappear with your footprints, I swore that I would never forget_." Sephiroth continued.

"_Letting my broken wings flap, I'll show them everything disappearing. One day, I'll meet my end, up until the final bell stops tolling out right now._" Angeal's voice was just out of tune, but it was getting better.

"_You told me to live as if you were to die tomorrow, feel as if you were to be reborn now, face as if you were to live forever_." They all sang in unison.

"_I traced the red tears with my trembling fingers  
I had nothing to lose, nothing truth  
My fleeting memories will fall into darkness  
Your last smile comes into my mind, and disappears  
Leaving behind only warmth_

_Right now, I can't be cured by words  
That are only gentle  
I'm just going to give my everything  
The battle's going on until the end of time_

_Someday, everyone will return to space  
You don't need words for goodbyes  
Make it up!_

_Letting my broken wings flap  
I'll show them everything disappearing  
One day, I'll meet my end  
Up until the final bell stops tolling out right now_

_Right now, I can't be cured by words  
That are only gentle  
I'm just going to give my everything  
The battle's going on until the end of time_

_Redemption  
Redemption."_ And then Genesis closed his eyes and Sephiroth folded his wing down and Angeal sat beside Zack, holding his hand.

"We are redeemed and soon the goddess will give us her gift." Genesis muttered.

"We'll get through this, somehow. I promise, Genesis." Sephiroth whispered.

"It's been a year, Sephiroth. No-one cares and no-one is coming to find us. We will survive because we have to." Genesis replied. Zack made one of his abortive noises and he and Angeal came over to curl up next to Sephiroth and Genesis. Genesis sighed and began to sing again.

* * *

"_You're fucking your pretty friend Zack, you know. Can't you see him, he's crying and he hates you now. Poor little sluts, poor little sluts."_

"_Raping each other now, whores? I bet they like it really."_

"_This one doesn't. Little Z hates it when G sticks his dick in him."_

"_Stop it, stop it, let him go, he's only a boy!"_

"_No, slut. You're going to give him a good fucking, like the slut he is. Now shut up and suck my cock like the cocksucker you are."_

_Nonononono, "Angeal! Don't!" Nonononono, not like this..._

* * *

Angeal holds onto Sephiroth now. He is blind and deaf and mute, has been ever since he killed seven men for hurting Zack and Genesis. It is both a punishment and an experiment, one that seems to be failing abysmally. Sephiroth lapses into silence too often these days. Genesis and Zack are kept elsewhere, and Sephiroth knows that they are together and apart – Zack unable to talk to Genesis and communicate his presence and Genesis unable to see Zack. It is just another piece of madness. It is almost comforting these days. Sephiroth can portion out the madness into little squares and he scratches every new one onto the glass. He can read it easily, Hojo having enhanced his eyesight to ridiculous degrees.

There are diagrams and equations and he taught Angeal Braille using gouges in the glass – Sephiroth almost wore his fingers to the bone doing it, but it was worth it just to reclaim a form of communication. After that he spent days teaching Angeal Morse code, so that Angeal could tap him a message and he could reply in the same fashion. It takes a long time to get anywhere and the silence is cloying, but it is better than the screams.

They still come sometimes, Genesis' screams. Hojo has decided that Genesis is unsuitable for most experiments, like Zack, and uses him for the minor, painful ones. Not that he's stopped using Sephiroth for that. Only two weeks ago Sephiroth woke up to find his chest opened and his lungs half pulled out, although Hojo wasn't fool enough to fully remove them. Sephiroth's own screams had filled the room then, as his body insisted that he should be dead but wasn't. The day after, when Sephiroth had been sewn back up and left to heal in agony, Hojo had forced him to ingest rotten Malboro flesh. While the taste turned his stomach, Sephiroth found that he was digesting it with little adverse side effects, which was undoubtedly the whole point of the experiment.

Only a few days ago, Sephiroth had had to blow one of the researchers in order to obtain food for Angeal. His semen had tasted foul and Sephiroth had wanted to spit it out, but the man refused to remove his dick and Sephiroth had had to swallow. And once that was done and Angeal had eaten the dull gruel, Hojo had come in to cut off their wings again. It was a routine dismemberment. Their wings grew back in a matter of days, and the old ones apparently disintegrated far too quickly. So, once a week, Hojo would saw off their wings and leave them to bleed on the floor.

Sephiroth's blood was more green than red these days, the amount of mako he had in him.

* * *

Genesis was back with him, blind and with his eyes glued shut again. Zack was next door, alone.

And Angeal? Angeal was alone, in a huge glass tank. Alone, save for the twin humbabas also contained within. And Angeal was blind and deaf and mute. He was nude and defenceless and Sephiroth couldn't see how this was anything but an execution.

One of the humbabas roared. Its golden fur was flecked with sweat and madness glinted in its eyes and Angeal wasn't even facing it. The other reached for Angeal and Zack was pounding the glass.

"ANGEAL, ANGEAL!" Sephiroth yelled and Genesis took up the cry. They pounded on the glass, bloodying their fists and Angeal turned unseeing eyes to face the beasts behind him. They both roared, triumphant and then-

Sephiroth could not look away as they ripped into Angeal, claws and fangs ripping through skin like paper. He did not fear death, did not fear watching death, but he wished he did. Oh, how he wished he did. Genesis was screaming and sobbing and he couldn't even see – _didn't need to, the noises_ – and Zack was crying and smashing the glass containing him.

Angeal's broken body fell to the ground, once pristine white feathers fluttering weakly before stilling.

There was an eternal moment of silence – _not silence, he was screaming Angeal's name and Genesis was sobbing brokenly and Zack was breaking glass and snapping the bodies of the researchers in two, but it felt like silence because ohgodAngealwasdead,dead,deadAngealwasdeadand there was nothing Sephiroth could do._

Sephiroth watched as Zack broke through the glass holding the humbabas, ignoring the lacerations on his skin. He ripped into them, with his hands and fingers, tearing their fur from them and ripping hunks of flesh out. Vaguely, Sephiroth heard them roaring in pain and confusion, but it was all lost as he watched Zack, innocent Zack, blue eyes burning with fury and rage and grief, ripping the pair apart.

And then it was over and Zack was standing triumphant over their corpses. He looked over to Angeal's, his white wing still visible despite the blood and Sephiroth saw Zack break. Zack's eyes met his and that was the only warning he had before Zack broke off one of the humbabas' horn and-

"Zack." he whispered, voice broken and cracked. "Oh Zack."

"No." Genesis whimpered. "Not him too. Tell me not him too, tell me, Sephiroth."

"Oh _Zack."_ Sephiroth hissed and then he broke down beside Genesis and they cried together.

_

* * *

_

_Screaming and sobbing and screaming and sobbing._

_Pain, pain go away, come again another day._

_Ring-a-ring of roses, a pocketful of posies, all fall down._

_Falling down, falling down, my fair lady._

_All the king's chocos and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again._

_Kweh kweh black choco , have you any down._

"_Who killed Cock Robin?" "I," said the Sparrow, "with my bow and arrow. I killed Cock Robin."_

_Now I hear the cry again, but I cannot tell from where._

_There his mother bound his head, with vinegar and brown paper._

_But shat the door and sharp stone and cuff and kick and hate._

_They all ran after the farmer's wife, who cut off their tails with a carving knife._

_But what befell them I never can tell, for they never came back again._

_Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday. This is the end of Solomon Grundy._

_My heart went out to Mr Blob the moment that we met, and the sorrow of his going is a thing that haunts me yet._

_Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop._

_Sleepy-byes, sleepy-byes, time for sleepy-byes._

"_Sleep now. For though the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall your return."_

* * *

Genesis is screaming and it is this that finally sends Sephiroth mad.

He summons Masamune, some way, somehow and he slices the room open and Hojo's head hits the floor with a splat. It is oddly anticlimactic.

Genesis stops screaming and then he stabs the fat ugly man and says "Run little piggies, run on home' and the other fat men dance for him before he cuts them up too. The blond bitch screams and screams and he puts her eyes out and says "Gen's eyes are prettier than yours" and then he steals the blond man's voice and says "Zack died, Zack died and I want his voice back".

Then he is in the sky, fly pretty bird, flyflyfly and there is heat and fire and burning and that is when the voices come.

_helpme,noididn'tdoanything,fire,itburnsohgoditburns,helpmehelpme,i'msorry,helpmeohwon'tsomeonesaveme,helpme!_

He screams and holds Genesis' hand and flaps and flaps and then they are falling, falling down will come baby cradle and all and something snaps and then there is burning in his eyes and then there is darkness, precious darkness.

* * *

Midgar burns and no-one notices the two men flying on black wings. No-one notices the insane god who rains down flame upon them and no-one knows why.

A flower girl cries in her church, protected from the flames and rain falls around her and many miles away, deserted Banora splits open and mako fountains up, claiming the two flying above it.

* * *

Genesis cannot see, but he knows where everything is.

_The gift of the goddess _he thinks and then he helps Sephiroth up and together they crawl out of the empty caves beneath Banora. He guides Sephiroth – now blind, his eyes milky white and open wide - instead of Sephiroth guiding him.

* * *

After Midgar burned, there were a lot of refugees. That is why no-one in Mideel notices the two men who choose to live on the edge of the village. One wears red and has auburn hair. His eyes are always shut but he seems able to see. He speaks in riddles and past tenses and guides the other man with a gentle hand.

The other wears black and has long silver hair. His eyes are open, but he does not see. He speaks as a child would and of voices in his head and the doctor in Mideel thinks he is disturbed, but the other man refuses to let anyone examine either of them. Usually, the silver haired man – known only as Seph – stays in their small home while the other one – known as Gen – does all the important things.

There is talk about them, of course, and some of the villagers say that Seph has obviously got one of those unspeakable illnesses that comes with liking men more than women. Gen ignores the talk and smiles placidly and then he goes into the forest, blind and alone and brings back monster corpses. They don't talk about him after that.

Every year, they go into the forest alone and come back unchanged. No-one knows why.

They never get any visitors and no-one bothers them and they don't bother anyone. The village ignores them eventually and they ignore the village. It is a relationship that suits everyone.

Eventually Midgar is rebuilt and most of the refugees return there. Gen and Seph don't and no-one asks why. It is only mentioned once in Gen's hearing and his reply is confusing to say the least.

"_My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey in my own salvation and your eternal slumber._" he says and then he walks away.

* * *

*provides tissues*

_Rethira_


End file.
